El Encino
In the intersection of forest and urban expanse within the municipality of Santiago in Nuevo León, El Encino emerges. A house, shaped like a small, terraced prism, adapts to the steep topography of the land, subtly emerging from the mountainside and reconciling the exuberant natural landscape of the valley with the geometric order of the surrounding development.
Through its materiality and spatial organization, El Encino fosters a dialogue between the needs of suburban living and the opportunities presented by the natural environment. It recognizes that a sense of belonging is rooted in place. The journey begins in the lower level, an open space encompassing parking and a guest room. A staircase, traversing the columnar structure, encircles a landscaped patio adjacent to a stone retaining wall, a remnant of the excavation process. The main level exudes transparency through an open floor plan, where public areas intermingle with a spacious terrace. Sliding glass doors seamlessly integrate the surrounding mountain vegetation into daily life, blurring the boundaries between interior and exterior. On the opposite side, a lightweight steel staircase, communicating with the upper level, floats along a brick wall beneath a skylight.
Enveloped by an expansive terrace, the living room, bedrooms, and service areas define a rhythmic pattern of latticework and windows along the façade. At the rear, a laundry room forms a patio, framed by the raw stone of the property boundary. The volumetric organization of the house is rotated to turn its back on the development, thereby fully embracing the mountain view and dissolving the notion of neighboring residences. This orientation ensures that the forest vista remains a constant presence.
The intent is to create a complex interplay of spaces and experiences within a palette of simple forms and materials. Elements such as sun-shading slabs, weathering steel railings, excavated rock, latticework, paving, and brick walls evoke natural processes, organizational patterns, and the passage of time. While the valleys have transitioned from verdant to urbanized, this project invites us to imagine a reverse process, where the forest reclaims its ground and integrates with buildings, becoming an integral part of their function. By blurring both physical and visual boundaries between properties, the project seeks to restore a harmonious relationship with the surrounding landscape and embrace the mountain as an integral part of the architectural experience.
